Do I have a Case on Cingualr Wireless

[IcedArmani]

When I was 18 I signed up for a Cell Phone. I paid $80.00 for the phone and activation. I was then told it would be on in 15 min. 15 mon. later no signal... I call Cingular and they told me the phone would be on the next day...still no signal...2 days later the phone was stolen(without being activated) I called and let them know they said dont worry They will cancel my account(it was never activated) For two years I received bills from Cingular saying I owe them money...blah blah blah..(I have letters from Cingular saying I never had an activated account)loe and behold 3 years later I have a BIG negative on my Credit Bureau with Cingular all over it(alot more to it than this though)...Do I have grounds for a lawsuit against them?

I have already contacted the Collection agencies and they have "all" said they nolonger have it they returned it to Cingular(there were probable 3 collection agencies that it went to that I have had to call) cingular say that it is "my" responsibility to contact the Credit company....How? they legally had no grounds to send my information off since I never had an account with them....

[Leadhead]

What you must do is dispute this with the CRA's. If it comes back as verified, you can hold Cingular responsible and file suit per FCRA 623(.

[anti-something]

did you ever dispute the bills they sent you?

[DocDon]

Cingular agreed to simply cancel the account? Did you sign a service agreement?

Cingular wouldn't miss out on collecting on a broken service contract - stolen phone or not.

[anti-something]

im inclined to think that the phone part really doesnt matter at all, working, not working, activated, not activated, because its the SERVICE they were billing you for, not the phone.

[IcedArmani]

I disputed every bill they sent me....I have four different "Formal Demands" for the payment of xxx....and I contact every single one...but when I would call, they would tell me that it was sent to "somewhere else" its like the Collection Agencies were playing "Hot-Potato" with my account...now, when I contact the most recent one they tell me that Cingular has it...When I contact Cingular they tell me it sis a Zero Balance with them, however it is not "their" job to tell the Credit Burea that it is not a legit account and to retract it....isnt it their job to do so? Someone Please HELP!!!

[anti-something]

IF they are reporting then yes, it IS their job to fix it. if however you are dealing with a collection agency reporting, then thats different, do a DV then dispute the entry with the CRAs, if they verify to the CRA sue away!

[DocDon]

Was it listed on your reports by Cingular or a CA? If it was Cingular, they most certainly DO have a responsibility to deal with the CRA.

Try taking your issue to their corporate offices. When you're dealing with the 1-800 reps, you're getting nothing but scripted misinformation. They're not authorized to do half of what it is you're looking to accomplish.

You were told that the account would be closed, they lied, then refused to work with you. Your letter should indicate to corporate that a formal complaint is being made against them with the proper governmental agencies.

You have to remember too, that even though it may or may not be a FDCPA / FCRA issue, it's still a consumer issue, and the FTC and their state Attorney General handles those too.

Don't forget to demand the recall and deletion of any collection in reference to the matter.

[IcedArmani]

So even if Cingular had no legal grounds According to the Fair Credit Act to send in my info. to the collection agency it is not their responsibility to fix it?

[IcedArmani]

Here is the MIND BOGGLER back when the "account that never existed" was signed and denied...Cingular told me that "ALL items that had to do with me an them would be "VOID" like I never existed to them....one more thing...lets just say I was 17 when I signed up with them...can I still be held liable....and if not what will the outcome be then?

[anti-something]

so what do you want at this point? do you (just) want the entries removed or do you want to go for the jugular?

[IcedArmani]

About 1 year ago I applied for a Job which would call for me to relocate...I applied for the appartment and this showed and they were a little leary...because of this Cingular account I could not get the appartment therefore I did not get the job....I want to go for the Jugular!!!

[anti-something]

okey dokey then.

the most important thing you need is your paper trail, showing what you have done to try to get this resolved, any documents from cingular or any CA

if possible, get a rejection letter from the apartments (which technically you should have gotten from them) anything you can get from the place with the job that says they couldnt employ you because you couldnt move.

copies of all credit reports showing the entries.

then you need to do some reading, find and study your states rules of civil procedure, the local rules of the court you are thinking of suing in, any info you can find about how to take a case to court AND the laws you want to use in your case.

then you can begin to write out your case!

[DocDon]

Their screwup lead to a denial of credit? Especially a place to call home?

There's an artery that runs on the other side of the neck too, ya know...